French Polish..bridge on or off? (Full Version)

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TANúñez -> French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 10 2010 14:32:34)

Do you guys that FP due the top with bridge on or off? I assume it's easier with bridge off and doing the bridge separately by itself.

I'm going to start learning to FP. I just don't have the best setup for shooting lacquer and I like the fact that I can FP in my shop with some nice music and just relax.



krichards -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 12 2010 0:29:12)

I've always done it with the bridge on until recently.
On my last guitar I left the bridge off but masked the bridge area so it was a bit of a compromise. I don't like the idea of having to scrape off the finish in the bridge area but I can see that it would make the polishing easier.



tirofori -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 12 2010 1:35:16)

Like Kevin I mask the bridge area with tape ( by the way, let's not forget the fret board ). FP really penetrates the wood so if you apply it to the whole soundboard and remove it from the bridge area afterwards, e.g. with a razor blade, the strength of the glue joint between bridge and soundboard must suffer from it. I agree with Kevin that masking is not the easiest procedure, but it is the safest way.



Stephen Eden -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 12 2010 14:59:40)

i third masking the bridge area far far easier!



Per Hallgren -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 12 2010 17:48:09)

I string the guitar in white before I french polish it to have the opportunity to fine tune it if needed. To french polish it with the bridge on is not that difficult.



estebanana -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 12 2010 21:21:43)

quote:

I string the guitar in white before I french polish it to have the opportunity to fine tune it if needed. To french polish it with the bridge on is not that difficult.


I second that. Most of the time I just polish the top and razor scrape the finish where the bridge will go.

If you do glue the bridge on with guitar in the white it's nice to give it a head start by pore filling and bodying up the bridge first before gluing it on.



Per Hallgren -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 13 2010 1:28:27)

quote:

If you do glue the bridge on with guitar in the white it's nice to give it a head start by pore filling and bodying up the bridge first before gluing it on.


And I second that. Just forgot to mention it. Actually it is rather important to seal, porefill and at least lightly polish the rosewood to prevent it from bleeding when the top gets the sealer.



johnguitar -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 13 2010 6:01:13)

We kill ourselves trying to get perfect joints, working both surfaces, allowing for swelling with the glue, making sure that with pressure the surfaces mate perfectly. I know that some people glue the bridge after varnishing but I would never do it because you can't get the perfect surface I am looking for that way.

John Ray
Granada



TANúñez -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 14 2010 16:14:30)

Thank you for your input gentleman. I think I'm going to try bridge on first in order to fine tune it in the white if need be.

After doing my FP research, it appears it's just as labor intensive as shooting lacquer but I guess you could say it's a labor of love and much safer.



stephen hill -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 21 2010 2:25:31)

I like to polish with the bridge on as I feel that the guitar is complete, although I would say that it is easier to polish masking off the bridge area exactly beforehand..



Peter Tsiorba -> RE: French Polish..bridge on or off? (Jan. 22 2010 10:21:49)

I prefer to have the guitar strung-up "in-the-white" which allows me to make any minor adjustments to the soundboard flexibility/graduations. I feel more directly connected to the process as I can actually play and hear the changes as they are made. Therefore, I polish with the bridge glued-on.

Additionally, I dislike the idea of putting aesthetics ahead of function and structure. Yes, finishing around the bridge takes extra patience and some getting used-to, but it's totally doable. Think of it this way for a moment: who would be installing windows in the house AFTER the painter has finished with the walls, just to make it easier for the painter?



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